Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II was greeted by hundreds of flag-waving schoolchildren and a 21-gun salute as she began her 16th and possibly last visit to her realm Down Under yesterday.
The queen, who will open a Commonwealth leaders’ meeting in Perth later this month, touched down at 5:40pm in Canberra, where she and her husband, Prince Philip, were met by Australia’s Welsh-born Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
Cheers went up from those crowding the tarmac as the 85-year-old monarch descended the steps of a British Airways Boeing-777, flying her Australian royal standard, to be greeted by Governor-General Quentin Bryce.
Photo: EPA
Bryce, the monarchy’s representative in Australia and the first woman to take the role, presented the queen to Gillard — the nation’s first female leader and a sworn republican, who shook her hand but did not curtsey.
A scarlet-clad military band played God Save the Queen and a 21-gun salute rang out as the queen — wearing teal with a matching hat — inspected a guard of army, navy and airforce officers.
Margaret Cunningham, the first person to present Queen Elizabeth with flowers on her inaugural tour 57 years ago as a young child, again had the honor of offering the first bouquet, a clutch of native flowers.
“That was a long time ago!” the monarch quipped as Cunningham shared her story.
About 200 schoolchildren lined the runway to greet her with gifts of flowers, stuffed animals, handmade cards and crowns, while Aboriginal representatives gave her a plate decorated in a traditional style.
The queen is extremely popular in Australia, with an estimated 75 percent of the population turning out to catch a glimpse of her during her maiden 1954 tour.
This visit — her 16th to the former British penal colony — is set to be much more low key and may well be her last official trip Down Under.
Gillard earlier said it would be an honor to welcome the queen and Prince Philip back to Australia.
“Visits by the queen are etched into the collective memory of the Australian people,” Gillard said. “Many Australians can recall Her Majesty’s previous visits as landmarks in their own lives.”
Australian republicans, who for decades have been agitating for a severing of ties with the British monarchy, said the latest visit provided a focal point for discussions about the nation’s head of state.
“It really is time for a grown-up discussion about this,” Australian Republican Movement chairman Mike Keating said.
“The British monarchy simply does not represent Australian values in 2011 and it’s time for our elected representatives to stand up on this basic truth,” he added.
However, support for a republic is ebbing, with a recent Roy Morgan survey showing support for ditching the monarchy at its lowest level in two decades.
According to the poll, only 34 percent of Australians support a republic — the lowest level since 1991 — while 55 percent want to keep the monarchy.
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